Team Building Exercises
by Rangergirl3
Summary: Keith's Galra heritage is revealed to the rest of the team. Third in the 'Lost Paladins' series.
1. Pillow Fight

Lance did indeed wake up when Keith threw the pillow into his face. He let out a startled squawk of confusion and thrashed around, trying to sit up, but only succeeding in tangling himself in his blankets.

"WHAT?!" he shouted. "WHAT THE HE-"

That's when he got the other three pillows in rapid succession - one to the head, one to the stomach, and one to the knees. He flailed wildly, falling back onto the floor. Instinctively, he grabbed hold of one of the pillows and used it to shield his face. He felt groggy, but something was nagging at him.

They'd all been sleeping in the - no, not the lounge - they were sleeping near the healing pods - and - oh, right.

Huh. So _that's_ how it was going to be, then.

Pidge and Hunk were roaring in laughter somewhere nearby him, and then he saw Keith's feet approach him from the other side of the room.

"I _warned_ you," Keith was saying. "I _told_ you I'd hit you when you least expec-"

With a victorious howl of "AHA! I GOT YOU NOW!", Lance lunged to his feet and used the pillow he was holding to clobber Keith in the chest. At least, that was the idea.

Keith ducked just as the pillow would have connected, and suddenly he'd dodged around and behind Lance, who then found himself suddenly in a very effective hold. Keith wasn't putting a lot of pressure on Lance's arm or neck or anything, he'd just managed to put Lance into a headlock that Lance - was - having difficulty - getting out of.

"HA!" Kieth was saying. "There's no way you can get me now-"

"AHH! Hunk! Pidge!" Lance shouted, but without any real panic in his voice. He wiggled and tried to elbow Keith in the side with his free arm, continuing to squeal in a fake terrified voice. "Heeeeelllp! Keith's got meeeeee!"

Suddenly Hunk and Pidge had joined in on the fun, and Keith found himself completely overwhelmed by various pillows, flung at him from all directions. He let go of Lance and managed to roll to one side, turned, and got to his feet again, hands held up in front of him, palms facing out.

"Okay, okay, I give up," he said. "You win."

Pidge plopped the pillow she'd been just about to throw onto the ground and settled onto it, cross-legged.

"Aw, that's no fun," she said. "You can't just surrender." Beside her, Hunk and Lance had begun to swat at each other's heads with their pillows. Sounds of 'Ooomph!' and 'Oomph! Hey, nice one, Hunk!' continued in the background.

"I just did," Keith said, feeling a satisfied half-smile tug at his mouth. "And anyway, it's not surrendering - it's more of a strategic _retreat_."

Pidge snorted and started to shove her glasses back up onto her nose before she realized they weren't there anymore. She sighed and started checking under some of the pillows and blankets on the floor around her. "Coran and Allura got up about half an hour ago," she said almost absent-mindedly in Keith's direction. "They said something about breakfast - "

Hunk's stomach made a growling sound, and he perked up immediately. "Ooh - breakfast! I should go and see if they've got anything like pancakes - or eggs - or bacon!"

Lance made a smacking sound with his mouth and rubbed a hand over his stomach. "Oh, man - _bacon_ ," he said, and there was longing in his voice. "I sure hope so - here, I'll come with you, Hunk," he added, finally disentangling himself from the blankets around his ankles with a few final kicks. "Maybe we can even find coffee - or, the space version of coffee - I mean, gotta have that caffeine, right?"

"Oh, I miss coffee _so_ much," Hunk agreed as they headed towards the door. "But I think there's got to be something like that in the kitchen-"

As Hunk and Lance headed down the corridor, Keith started picking up the blankets and pillows, piling them onto a couch that was a little further away from the others.

"Do you know where you saw them last?" he asked Pidge, who was still searching for her glasses on the ground around her.

"I think - " Pidge stopped short as she realized he was trying to help her look for her glasses by clearing away the floor.

"Oh - thanks, Keith," she said. "I thought I'd brought them in from the lounge - but - "

There was an unfurling of material, followed by a gentle ting as the frames of the glasses bounced gently onto the ground. Pidge turned her head to see Keith bending over and picking them off the floor. They'd been in the folds of a blanket he'd just put onto the couch.

"Got 'em," Keith said, turning back and coming over to hand them to her. "Hey - uh, did these - ever have glass in them?"

"Nope," she said, taking them from him with a grateful half-grin and putting them onto her nose again. "Well, they did at Garrison, but the lenses actually fell out when we found Blue in the cave."

"Oh." Keith said. He thought back for a moment, narrowing his eyes and casting his gaze to the floor. Then his eyes came to rest on her face again, his expression clearing. "The water slide?"

"Yeah," Pidge said. "The glass fell out of the lenses then - but I didn't even notice - well, actually, I didn't notice they were gone until Shiro and I were on the shuttle - heading to get Green. But it's not like I needed the glass lenses. It was just part of my disguise. And I'd just gotten so used to having the frames on - I just kept them. I guess now it's more habit than anything else."

"Yeah." Keith said. "I know how that is."

Pidge looked over at him, and saw that he was looking at where Shiro still slept in the healing pod. Keith's eyes were serious, his face lined with concern.

The Black Lion was still sleeping at the foot of the pod, just like a regular cat would. The mice weren't in the room anymore - they'd probably left with Allura when she and Coran had gone to get breakfast ready.

"What do you mean?" Pidge asked curiously. "I mean - you don't have to tell me if you don't -"

Keith looked back at her and shrugged a shoulder. "No…no - uh, it's - " He blew out a breath, crossed his arms, and leaned back against a nearby wall. He looked over again at Shiro, and thought about how nearly he'd lost him - again - and how Pidge was still looking for her family. Keith knew she worried about them.

"What I meant - was - that - uh - I know it can be hard to break a habit," he said. "For me - my habit - is to…worry." He looked back down at Pidge then, feeling his eyes narrowing slightly in an effort to find the right words. "I worry about…well, pretty much everything."

 _Every_ _ **one**_ , his mind said. _You worry about_ _ **everyone**_ _\- because you can't stand the thought of losing them._

He didn't know how to say that, though. Not out loud.

Words didn't came easily to him. They never had.

He turned his gaze back to Shiro. He knew his friend would be okay…but old habits died hard. Worry stayed at the corner of his mind, a constant, nagging sensation that remained just out of reach.

It seemed that Pidge understood what Keith meant. She nodded and spoke, understanding coloring her voice, which was soft, and just a little bit sad. "Yeah, I know."

She sighed then, just a short exhalation of air. "I worry too."

She looked over at Shiro as well. She and Keith just stood there for a moment, together in a companionable silence.

When Pidge spoke, it was quiet, almost inaudible. But Keith heard her.

"Lucky us, huh?"

Keith looked down at her again. She hadn't taken her gaze from Shiro's still form.

Keith huffed out a breath that might have been a brief attempt at a laugh.

"Yeah," he said. "Lucky us."


	2. Kitchen Fun

Keith always forgot how small Pidge was compared to the rest of the Paladins. Her bravery and fiery personality were what he thought of whenever they were in battle, or interacting as a team.

But right now, as they stood here, looking at Shiro, she seemed in need of something - some encouragement, some kind of support he didn't know how to give. But he knew who might be able to help her.

Shiro was safe - at least for now.

But right now, at this moment, Keith's responsibility was to help Pidge.

"Come on," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Let's go down to the kitchens."

She glanced up at him then, surprise in her eyes. "Huh?"

He turned and started walking down the corridor, jerking his head in that direction, encouraging her to come with him as he spoke. "Right now, I'm worried about what Lance and Hunk are up to with our breakfast," he said.

Pidge snorted in reply, but she followed him as he headed out of the room. "Yeah, I'm actually more concerned with what _Coran_ is doing," she said as they walked side by side down the hallway that lead to the kitchens. "Like - maybe he's making tofu pancakes and vegetable eggs-"

"Hey now," Keith said. "Don't go giving me nightmare fuel."

"-or maybe plant bacon-"

Keith made a retching sound.

Pidge chuckled then. Keith almost smiled back at her, but sounds coming from the kitchen distracted him as he and Pidge approached the door. It sounded like two people were rhythmically banging pots and pans together, and they were also -

They looked at each other then. Pidge's eyes had gone wide in amazement, and Keith felt his own eyebrows rise.

"What -" he began to ask, but she cut him off.

"Is - is that - singing?" Pidge asked. "It sounds like - _dang_ , Lance and Hunk can really belt it out, huh?"

" _Singing_?" Keith asked. "It sounds - well, Allura and Coran are laughing so hard I can't - it's hard to make out - "

 _Note from the Author: The song that is referenced here is 'Sing' by Pentatonix. I own nothing, but I love this song. If you are not familiar with the song, you might want to listen to it so the rest of this chapter makes a bit more sense._

"It's - oh my gosh, that's AWESOME!" Pidge said. "I know that song!"

Keith felt his eyebrows rise higher. "Explain," he said, keeping his voice completely flat and deadpan, like those robots on that show. "Explain. Explain."

Pidge shot him a grin, and he raised his hands in a ' _Help me_ , I have now clue what's going on' gesture. Pidge's eyes were dancing with merriment as she answered his question.

"It - okay - I think - I think they're singing a song called 'Sing'!"

Keith felt his head begin to hurt, and he raised a hand to scratch at his forehead. "Um - what now?"

Pidge was actually jumping up and down now, looking excited. "It's a fun one - actually, there's this group that sings it - and it's actually four guys and a girl!"

Keith nodded.

Ah.

A group sang a song. Pidge recognized it.

"Okay, I think I'm following you now."

"And Hunk and Lance are singing it now - okay, okay, Keith - we _totally_ have to join in."

"I'd rather die." Keith stated, being only slightly sarcastic. Pidge could hear the mix of sincerity and deadpan in his voice. "Please, please _God_ \- anything but _that_."

Pidge snorted, reaching up and smacking the side of his head. Keith blinked down at her, then realized it had been more of a friendly 'Stop being so silly' gesture than an actual attack.

She made a face up at him as she said, "Okay, fine, but I'm going to! And actually - " Her face suddenly took on an excited glow - "I think there's a line _even_ _you_ can do."

Keith felt his soul begin to shrivel in dismay, but then he saw how excited she was at this idea, and he decided it couldn't hurt. If Coran and Allura were laughing this hard in delight at whatever Hunk and Lance were doing, it had be at least - somewhat - fun. And it wouldn't kill him to humor his shortest teammate.

Probably.

He sighed to himself, mentally putting this in the 'team-building exercise' category. Shiro was going to be so disappointed that he missed seeing _this_.

"Okay, Pidge. I'll do it. Which line?"

"It's this one - "

She told him. Keith looked confused.

"Why that one?"

Pidge was laughing now, holding her sides and trying to keep it as quiet as possible. "It - it's a code they have - for disturbing the peace - back on Earth - oh come on, it's too perfect! Hunk and Lance are going to die laughing!"

Keith nodded, swallowing back some of the nervousness he suddenly felt. "You'll have to tell me when to say it," he said. "I still have _no_ idea what's going on - but -"

"Oh, you'll be great!" Pidge whispered, grabbing his hand and pulling him forward. Now they both were standing next to the doors that led into the kitchen. "You disturbed the peace _all_ the time at Garrison - that line's perfect for you!" she continued in a happy, excited whisper. "I'll just point to you when it's time, and you say it, okay?!"

Keith wanted to tell her that she'd have to make him a medal or something for agreeing to do this, but she was obviously ecstatic at the chance to join in on the fun, and he suddenly realized that _this_ \- this joining in on something he wouldn't normally do - that maybe _this_ was the kind of support she needed right now.

So he just nodded at her, feeling his face crease into a reluctant smile.

What the hell. His dignity wasn't so important to him that he couldn't do this for her.

Pidge grinned up at him then, and he realized that he liked it when she smiled.

Together, they peered in through the upper windows set into the doors. Hunk and Lance - as they'd thought - were the ones singing and banging spoons and pots together on the countertop, while Allura and Coran stood by the refrigeration unit and watched, laughing in delight.

Allura had both her hands clasped together, and she was shaking with laughter, smiling with pleasure. Coran was leaning against the nearby wall, one hand beating out the rhythm. His face was incredulous, but also expressed genuine enjoyment. The mice were watching, spell-bound at the performance.

Inwardly, Keith steeled himself. _Team building exercise. Team building exercise. I can do this. It's a team building exercise._

"Now!" Pidge whispered, and they opened the doors and came into the kitchen together. Hunk almost stopped when they saw the two of them, but then Pidge shouted out the lyrics in time with Lance, and Hunk resumed, a giant smile spreading across his face. Pidge bounded over to the countertop, grabbed a spare spatula, and began beating out the time together with Lance and Hunk.

Keith stayed near the doors, but leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms and feeling his smile reach his eyes as he watched the other three Paladins having fun. When they reached the part of the song Pidge had told him about, he waited and watched for her signal.

Shiro was going to be _so_ disappointed that he'd missed out on this.

 _"Sing it for your mama, ay_

 _Sing it for your papa, ay_

 _Sing it for the whole world_

 _Whether boy or girl, for your #1 bae_

 _KO on the beat, okay?"_

And then Pidge pointed to him, and he said the line, hoping he was saying it at the right speed.

 _"I'm the human 808."_

Hunk and Pidge went on singing and beating out the rhythm, but Lance burst out laughing and couldn't keep going. He laughed so hard he had to grab hold of the counter in front of him, and then he leaned over, holding his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking as he tried to regain his breath.

Then the song ended, and Hunk and Pidge joined in on the laughter. Keith watched them all laugh so hard that tears ran down their faces, but something about the laughter told him it wasn't the kind of laughter that meant Lance - or any of them - thought that Keith was stupid. It was the kind of laugh that was just - simple, sheer enjoyment at something hilarious.

Given the kind of days they'd had lately, Keith found he didn't mind. In fact, part of him...kind of enjoyed it too. He chuckled to himself at the sight of his teammates' hilarity. It was just a short chuckle, but it was genuine.

Coran and Allura were looking over at Keith in a mix of ebbing hilarity and amazement, and he shot them a conspiratorial half-smile.

"What?" he asked, low enough so that it didn't reach the other Paladins. "It's not like they're the only ones who have a sense of humor."

Once the laughter had mostly subsided, Keith uncrossed his arms and came further into the room. Lance was wiping tears of laughter away from his eyes, saying something about almost cracking a rib. Hunk was nodding in agreement, and Pidge was grinning.

"So," Keith said, looking around at everyone. He realized he wanted to know more of what had led to this. "What - uh - what led to - "

"We were making breakfast," Allura said, "and then Lance and Hunk came in to help -"

"-and then we began talking about how sometimes, humans listen to music while they cook," Coran joined in. "And Lance and Hunk decided they wanted to show us a song they knew-"

"-and then - well, you saw!" Hunk finished, beaming at them all. Pidge grinned and patted Hunk's shoulder. At the same time, she reached up and slapped Lance on the back, and he looked down at her, surprised.

"You were still hiccuping," she said, but she was grinning in a mischievous kind of way. "I wanted to _help_."

Lance threw back his head and laughed again. "Yeah, yeah, okay," he said. He reached over and took hold of a spoon and bowl that had been pushed to the side. He flipped the spoon expertly and caught hold of it again, grinning at the others in the room.

"So -" He said, his eyes sparkling. "Let's make some space pancakes."


	3. Acceptance

Some time later, everyone sat back in their chairs after finishing their meal. It had tasted like a nice, normal Earth-style brunch, and now Hunk felt full, happy, and a little bit drowsy. Pidge was feeding bits of leftovers to the two mice that had come over to her, Lance was stretching and yawning in contentment, and Coran and Allura had just put down their utensils. The other two mice were curled up in contented drowsiness by Allura's plate.

"That was wonderful," Allura said, smiling at them all. "Thank you for this lovely morning."

Coran nodded, looking around and beaming at everyone around the table. "We should be able to stay in this specialized wormhole loop until Shiro wakes up," he said. "After that - well, I think the first thing we should do is visit some planets - make some allies. We'll want to build up a strong resistance against Zarkon, and that might take some time. But, on the bright side, I think plenty of people will want to unite against the Galra Empire."

Keith pushed his empty plate away, looking down the table at Coran. "Yeah," he said. "That sounds like a good idea."

He bit his lip then, staring down at his drink. For a short time, he'd almost forgotten about what the witch Haggar had called him, back on her ship.

 _Half-blood._

But now…

Now that the toxin was taken care of, and now that he had a moment to ponder over the words, he knew this revelation would change things. As much as he might wish to deny it, he _was_ part-Galra. He could make excuses, he could say that he wasn't absolutely sure - but deep inside his heart, he knew it to be true.

From their time in the mind-meld, he knew that Lance, Hunk, and Pidge had been accepting about his Galra heritage. But did Coran and Allura know? If they didn't - he would have to…tell…them…

Another thought struck him then, and it almost took his breath away. _Did Shiro know?_

Keith tried to think back, back to the mind-meld that Haggar had put them through. Shiro had been the last one to come out of the nightmare landscape…and then the toxin had infected him…which meant - which meant Shiro probably didn't know what Keith had discovered.

How would Keith tell him? What could he say?

" _Hey Shiro - guess what? I'm part Galra."_

" _You know that alien race that captured you and tortured you for a year? Yeah - I'm related to them."_

" _It was no accident we found Red on a Galran ship."_

"Keith," Allura said, and her voice was very calm and gentle. He started in surprise, raising his head to look at both her and Coran again. His heart pounded quickly in his chest, and he started wishing he hadn't had so many space pancakes. His nerves were beginning to cause his stomach to feel - sort of queasy - and his palms were sweaty.

 _Dammit_.

"Um - yeah?" he asked, trying to keep the sudden uneasiness out of his voice.

Coran had also noticed something was wrong. He was looking at Keith in that concerned way he had. The other Paladins had gone rather quiet, all of them looking at him. They probably guessed what was on his mind.

"Keith," Allura said again. "Keith, are you all right?"

Keith didn't know what to say. "Yes," would be an obvious lie. But he didn't know how to tell them - how to tell Allura and Coran that he - he was -

Suddenly he felt a hand pat his left wrist reassuringly, and he looked down in surprise. Pidge was smiling encouragingly up into his face.

"You got this," she said. "It's okay."

Keith swallowed, nodded, then looked up to face Coran and Allura. "On the witch's ship - " he said. "Haggar - she called me - she called me half-blood."

Coran nodded. "We heard something like that. We'd just landed the shuttle and were fighting off the drones. We heard the rest in bits and pieces - but yes - we weren't entirely sure what she meant by that."

Allura leaned forward in her chair, looking intently at Keith. "Is it something - is it something you are worried about, Keith?" she asked. "It didn't sound like you knew what she meant, either."

Keith took a deep breath. "I - didn't, at first - " he said. "But - um - in the mind meld - I think - I think - "

His mouth had gone dry, so he had to swallow once more before he continued. Hunk caught his eye and nodded encouragingly. Even Lance looked serious. Usually, he couldn't sit still for more than a few seconds at a time, but now he was holding very still, catching Keith's gaze for a moment. He nodded at Keith then, showing his silent support.

"I - it's not clear - but I think - I think I saw that - that my father was Galra," he said. After saying that, he felt the words rush out. "He - he wasn't well known by the people - the people I remember talking to - and he always said he was from the space program - but - but it's more than just that - I opened the Galran doors on the Balmera by using the handprint control - and - and once, when I got injured, my skin - it - it looked - purple-"

He was running out of breath, but he desperately continued, not daring to stop. "- and - and Red - he says he suspects that I'm part-Galra - we - we spoke on our way back to the Castle-"

Realizing he hadn't told the other Paladins this, he looked back towards them. They all seemed slightly surprised, but not shocked. Well, they knew what talking to your Lion was like. Maybe not as clearly as he did - not yet - but they were Paladins too.

Allura's jaw had dropped open, but she seemed to realize it and hastily shut it. Coran was nodding slowly, looking down at his own hands.

"I thought that may be the case," he said. "The Galra - " he broke off, then resumed. "Before the war broke out, many Galrans were our friends and allies. Some remained so, even after Zarkon's rise to power."

He raised to eyes to meet Keith's as he continued. "I didn't think it was possible that there might be some of them still out there, independent, away from his control - but - from what you're saying, Keith-"

Keith felt his fists clench, but he resisted the urge to slam them onto the table out of fear and frustration. Sweat trickled down his neck, and he shook his head, cutting Coran off.

"-Coran - I - I don't know - "

The Red Paladin looked right into Coran's eyes then, and his gaze was desperate, fearful. "-how do I know - that he wasn't - that he wasn't one of Zarkon's advance scouts? Or just a deserter who was hiding out on one of the planets the Galra hadn't found yet?"

Allura opened her mouth, as if to speak, and then closed it again. Keith hadn't noticed. He went on, obviously trying to say everything that was on his mind, that had been on his mind ever since the witch had placed the idea in his head.

"I - I have _no_ idea - if - if my father was part of - a Galran resistance - or - or if he was an undercover agent for Zarkon. Hell, all I know is that - I'm part-Galran - and there's no way to find out - for certain - what my father was like." His voice broke then, and it was painful to hear. "I - I don't know anything."

There was a moment of silence. Allura shook her head from side to side, as if deciding something. She looked at Keith then, and her face was serious - drawn, a little paler than usual, and set into a determined expression.

"Princess?" Coran asked, his usually kind and cheerful voice a little confused. "What - "

Keith's shoulders slumped, and he looked defeated. He pushed his chair back from the table and made as if to rise.

Lance had never thought someone could look so different from one instant to the next. Keith was pale now, and his voice had gone ragged. He seemed almost to be moving automatically.

" 'S okay," Keith said. "I figured - I - "

"No," Allura said, standing up from her chair. "Wait - please, Keith. Don't leave."

Keith blinked in surprise, but remained seated. The other Paladins exchanged slightly confused and apprehensive looks.

Allura and Coran had just heard - from Keith - that he shared blood with the Empire that had destroyed their people - their culture - their home _planet._ What were they going to do?

Without delay or deliberation, Allura came over to stand in front of Keith, knelt down so they were face to face, and put her arms around his neck in a hug. There was nothing romantic about it, nothing deliberate, nothing planned. It was an impulsive gesture of affection and acceptance.

Lance's jaw dropped open at the same time as Hunk's. Pidge dropped the spoon with which she'd been feeding the two mice. Allura drew back from the embrace, but kept both of her hands on each of Keith's shoulders.

"Keith," Allura said, "please - _please_ listen to me."

"O-o-o-kay -" Keith stammered. He was obviously completely taken aback by her action. His eyes were slightly larger than usual, and there was a slight color to his face.

Allura kept eye contact with him while she spoke. "I thought Haggar might have discovered something of the kind - in your bloodline - but I never, not for an _instant_ \- thought that you had mislead us."

She took a deep breath then. Her face was still pale, but her voice was strong. "And regardless of your lineage," she continued, "you are part of this team. You are a Paladin of Voltron."

She swallowed then, and finished with as steady a voice as she could manage, "- and - more importantly - you are part of this family."

Keith's eyes were still huge, and he was staring at her with an expression that was a mixture of confusion, surprise, and something else - an emotion that was harder to place.

"You are who you choose to be," Allura continued. Her voice grew strong once more, and there was steel in it.

"And anyone who does not accept you for the brave, kind, talented person you are - will have to deal with _me_." With that, Allura dropped her hands from Keith's shoulders and stood up again, taking a few steps back. Her hands fisted in her skirts, and when she spoke again, her voice was quiet, but fierce.

"Please," she said. " _Please_ , believe me. What I say is true. That witch will not divide us. Keith-"

She broke off, turning red, then suddenly sitting down at an empty chair next to Pidge, hands now on the table in front of her. She seemed to have run out of words to express her thoughts and feelings.

The mice scampered across the table, back over to Allura, and nuzzled at her fingertips in a comforting gesture. Allura swallowed and looked down at them, clearly having said all she could for the moment.

Keith opened his mouth to say something, but then he felt another hand on his shoulder, and he looked up to see Coran standing slightly behind his chair. The courtier was looking down at Keith, and he was smiling slightly.

" _Paladins_ ," he said, and his tone was soft, friendly, and very welcoming. "It's our privilege to have you as one of us, Keith. Don't ever believe - not for an _instant_ \- that we would ever change our minds about that."

Allura looked up from where she was sitting and nodded. Lance, coming over to sit in the chair next to her, put a friendly hand on her shoulder. It wasn't his usual attempt at teasing or humorous flirting- this was a gesture of support and comfort. She gave the Blue Paladin a quick smile.

"Sounds like we're all agreed," Lance said to Keith. "It's like Pidge said - we're with you to the end of the line."

Then Pidge had leaned over and wrapped both her arms around Keith's middle. "Freakin' moron," she said, her face buried in Keith's shoulder. "As if they would hate you over something like that."

Keith felt his throat close up, and suddenly it was hard to see. He felt as if his heart had just condensed into a knot of emotions and thoughts that were too complex and complicated to give voice to.

What should he say? They'd want him to say _something_. He _wanted_ to say something.

 _I care about you too._

 _Your trust means everything to me._

 _Thank you._

"You're good, buddy," Hunk said. Keith saw that the Yellow Paladin was smiling over at him too, giving him a thumbs up. "We understand."

So in the end, Keith didn't have to say anything at all.


	4. Chores

While they waited for Shiro's healing cycle to finish, Hunk and Coran began working on replacement bayards for the Paladins. Allura and Lance worked together on compiling a list of the planets and races to start contacting once the team was completely recovered from their recent experiences, and Keith and Pidge teamed up to hunt down/create new suits of Paladin armor from the Castle's vast supply of spare parts.

"Oooooh, if I had more time to play with some of this stuff…" Pidge said longingly as they left another storage compartment, their arms full of the various items they needed.

"-that would mean Shiro would be asleep longer," Keith replied. "And as much as I _know_ you can't wait to try 'science' - I'd rather he be back to normal."

Pidge made a 'No, duh' sound in her throat as they walked up the stairs, back to the healing pod room.

"Of course I want Shiro to wake up as soon as possible!" she said. "Don't be an idiot."

"You sound like Lance," Keith replied, but there was no heat behind the words. "Oh no - the sickness is catching."

Pidge let out a bark of laughter as they came into the room together. They maneuvered deftly around the various pieces of equipment and reached their spot without too much trouble.

All three teams had set up shop in the various corners of the room where the healing pods were kept. Keith had known it wasn't more efficient to do it this way - but he'd kept quiet. He had a feeling it was the team's way of…connecting. Spending more time together in the same space was one way of connecting. That, and occasionally Pidge, Lance, and Hunk could break out into songs that all three of them knew.

Of course, the setup had its drawback s as well as its advantages. Occasionally the noise from the bayard-forging corner got too loud, and Lance and Allura would have to relocate to the kitchen or the control room. But, as Allura put it, it kept them 'active and well-informed on the Castle's situation'.

"It means I walk up and down a lot of hallways," Lance told Pidge that night. "But - I guess I'll be even more _awesome_ in the training room once we pick that up again."

Pidge, exhausted from compiling three different suits of armor that afternoon, only had time to nod and give him a sleepy thumbs up before her head fell back onto her pillow. Lance shrugged, turned over, and adjusted his position so that he was more comfortable on the couch nearby.

The team had decided a second sleep-over was in order, and no one had raised any complaints with the arrangements. Granted, they'd all had to adjust the spacing of their sleeping placements around the various projects in progress - but It meant they were able to be close to Shiro while he was recovering, both day and night.

Keith sat with his back against the wall, looking over the team as they fell off to sleep, one by one. Smiling, he rested his head against the wall and looked over at the healing pod where Shiro slept, the Black Lion still curled into a ball at the foot of the pod. He still felt nervous about telling Shiro about - about himself, after Shiro woke up tomorrow.

But something told him it was going to be okay.


	5. Epilogue

"Shiro - there's something I need to tell you."

Shiro listened, his face serious and attentive. Once Keith was finished, Shiro nodded and put a hand on Keith's shoulder. It was his flesh hand - the shattered cybernetic arm was still in the process of being repaired by Pidge, Hunk, and Coran. Only bits and various parts of the original remained attached to his right shoulder, but Coran had told them that it was better to only replace what had broken off. A total replacement process would be prohibitively time-consuming, as well as unnecessarily painful.

"I understand," Shiro said. "To be honest, I figured that might be the case."

Keith's jaw dropped open in surprise. "WHAT?" he exclaimed. "When - how - " he sputtered, but only managed to ask "- _What_?!" again.

Shiro's mouth twitched into a smile. "Well, we found the Red Lion on a Galra ship, and you were still able to gain the Red Lion's trust - and you were the one who found the Blue Lion in the first place. And since there were very few records on your father at Garrison - remember how we looked together? - I thought you might not be - well, I thought maybe - "

Keith shook his head, confused. "And you never said anything?"

Shiro shrugged. "What was there to say?"

Keith looked at him. Shiro looked back. "Keith, you're my friend. You're always going to be."

Keith coughed then, looking at the ground for a moment. "Yeah - well - "

Shiro patted Keith's shoulder again. "I didn't want to tell you about a guess that had no proof behind it. It would have been unkind, to put that doubt into your mind. And anyway - like I said - it doesn't change who you are."

Keith grinned up at his friend then. "Well, at least we know going forward that I'm -"

Here he made quotation marks with his fingers, "- _unique_."

Shiro grinned back at him, a real smile this time. "Don't get cocky, kid. A bloodline doesn't make any real difference in who you are."

Keith felt a rare, wide smile cross his face. This kind of back-and-forth was one of the things he'd missed most about his friend.

"But it's an _alien_ bloodline, Shiro." he said, trying to keep a straight face. "That means I'm _special_. Maybe even some kind of _chosen_ one."

Shiro threw back his head and laughed. It had been a while since he'd done that. Keith felt something like real happiness spark inside his chest.

"Hey - Keith - maybe - maybe you'll get superpowers," Shiro said, once he'd regained enough breath to speak. His dark grey eyes were glinting with humor.

Keith threw his hands up in the air in a 'What?!" gesture.

"What else is left?" he asked. "I can already fly!"

Shiro's mouth twitched again, and he looked at Keith from the corner of his eye. "Well, I'll be sure to keep an eye out for any glowing green rocks, okay?"

"That's a really good idea," Keith said, nodding, trying to keep a straight face. "Very preemptive."

They both laughed then, laughed like idiots, laughed like they hadn't laughed in a long, long time.

"-Just - " Keith managed once he got his breath back, "- just - just don't tell- don't tell Lance about the - the superpowers idea - he'd never - he'd never shut up - about it - "

Shiro shook his head. "No - no, I don't think - I don't think he would," he managed as he finally caught his breath.

Then they both headed back to where the others were waiting for them. They'd all stayed in the kitchen, waiting for Keith and Shiro to finish their talk before beginning dinner.

"Hey," Shiro asked as they drew near the kitchen doors, "did you know I woke up with - I don't know - some kind of song - stuck in my head?"

Keith attempted to keep a straight face. "Huh," he managed as they reached the door. "Imagine that. Weird, that's what it is."

Shiro shot him a suspicious look. "Okay," he said. "What's that look about?"

Keith tried to smooth out his expression. "What look?"

"The 'Shiro-you're-crazy' look that means you're hiding something," Shiro replied. "Come on, Keith, I've known you for _years_."

Keith just opened the door into the kitchen for both of them. "Come on, Shiro, you know music isn't my thing," he said. "Movies, shows - that's what I do. Not music."

Shiro nodded, seeming to accept this answer for about five seconds. Then he walked in first though the open door and called out,

"Okay, someone - spill - I have accapella stuck in my head and I _know_ it's got something to do with Keith."

Roars of excited chatter exploded from around the table, even as Keith attempted to dash inside the room and deny the accusation.

Well, it wasn't like he'd expected Shiro _not_ to hear the story. But he _had_ been hoping to get through dinner first.

Guess it was his turn to take one for the team.


	6. Author's Note

Greetings, reader! Thank you for clicking on this story! :D

This story is part of a series, but it can be read on its own.

If you're new to these stories, or if you're wondering what order they go in, here's the order of my 'Lost Paladins' series:

1) Lost Paladins

2) Fever Dreams

3) Team Building Exercises

4) Pidge one-shot

5) Red Means Blood

6) Chocolate Chip Cookies

7) Quality Time (references my fic 'You Can't Take the Sky From Me')

8) Broken Barriers

9) On the Edge

10) Scavenger Hunt

11) Broken Paladins

12) Cabin Fever

and the newest two that I have just posted:

13) Adventures in Babysitting

14) Family Is More Than Blood

Yup...you can tell I really love the Voltron: Legendary Defender show, huh? :D

But please, feel free to read this story on its own merit if you like - I love it when people read and review my stories! :D :D

The stories in this series do build on each other, so it may make a bit more sense if you read the stories in the order listed above. I would hate for you to feel lost or confused. :-)

There should be some more stories coming - I never thought I'd write this many, but all of the encouragement and support from you wonderful readers led to _everything_ after 'Lost Paladins'. :D :D Your reviews and encouragement are the life-blood that help me continue to write this series. Thank you!

As always, reviews help me know what people enjoyed/thought was interesting - your feedback helps this writer stay encouraged and get more ideas! It really makes my day to read what people thought/enjoyed - and feel free to PM me if you like! :D :D

Happy Reading!


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